Crank-assembly



J. L. BBL AND w. J. ONEILL. CRANK ASSEMBLY;

APPLICATION FILED AUG .12, i920.

1,366,351. Patented $11825, 1921.

5 U /f Z I??? z l1 ,0 v I u 7 I ii 4 I j INVENTORS flea?- 4. ITO/ME Y8 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN L. BEIL, 0F GALENA, ILLINOIS, AND WILLIAM J. ONEILL, 0F SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

CRANK-ASSEMBLY.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

Application filed August 12, 1920. Serial No. 462,990.

To alt whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that we, JOHN L. Barn and VVILLIAH J. ONEILL, citizens of the United States, and residents of Galena, in the county of Jo Daviess and State of Illinois, and Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and tate of New York, respectively, have 1nvented a new and useful Improvement in Crank-Assemblies, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Our invention relates to improvements in crank assemblies, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of our invention is to provide a crank assembly for ground connections for interlocking movements, as for instance, in railway switch apparatus, having means for preventing excessive wear of the moving parts thereof, wherefore the length of service of the parts of the device is greatly ex tended.

A further object of our invention is to provide a device of the type described having means for preventing play between the moving parts while permittlng free functional operation thereof.

A further object of our invention is to provide a device of the type describedthat is relatively'simple in construction and operation, not likely to get out of order easily, and thoroughly practical commercially.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, plication, in which Figure 1 is a plan view showing the use and application of the device,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, a portion being shown in section,

Fig. 3 is aplan view of a portion of the device,

Fig. 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of Fi .1.

11 carrying out our invention, we make use of a crank stand having a base 1, a vertical portion 2, a bearing 3 provided with a socket 4, and a lateral extension 5 to the vertical portion 2. The lateral extension 5 is formed with a bore 6 in vertical alinement with the socket 4. The hub 6 of a crank provided with a plurality of arms 7 forming part of this ap-' V is mounted upon the bearing 3 when the arms 7 are disposed horizontally and is maintained in that position by a pin 8 that is projected through the bore 6 and has its end resting in the socket 4. The pin 8 is tween the hub of the crank and the upper and lower bearing surfaces in the crank stand. Consequently, in service, the arms 7 will tend to oscillate more orless vertically as soon as there is any appreciable play between the hub of the crank and the hearing surfaces, the efficiency of the device is greatly reduced, and the parts thereof soon become unfit for service and must be replaced.

To obviate the difficulties enumerated above, and to insure satisfactory functioning of the parts of the device in continu ous service, we provide a washer made up of a plurality of arcuate segmental sections 10 having concentric inner and outer walls 11 and 12, respectively. Each segmental section 10 is fashioned with a threaded socket 13 in its upper surface, as best seen in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings. The segmental sections 10 are interposed between the hub of the crank and the adjacent bearing surface of the horizontal extension 5. The inner wall 11 of each segmental section 10 conforms substantially in outline with the pin 8. Consequently, when the several segmental sections are placed in position about the pin 8, the adjacent radial end walls 14 thereof will coincide and the several segmental sections will form a composite washer whose sections are movable vertiface of the hub of the crank can be compen; sated for by adjusting the position of the difierent segmental sections 10 vertically to prevent play between the movable parts without interfering with their satisfactory functional performance. hen each segmental section has been adjusted satisfactorily, it is maintained in position by means of a lock nut 17 that is mounted on the set screw 15 between the head thereof and the upper surface of the horizontal extension 8.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. Since play between the moving parts is prevented, the wear of such parts is reduced to a minimum and the parts may be used in continuous service for a much longer time than was possible prior to our invention.

We claim:

1. In railway apparatus for ground connections, the combination with a crank stand having a crank mounted therein for movement in a horizontal plane, of a washer interposed between the hub of said crank and the adjacent bearing surface of said crank stand, and means for adjusting said washer vertically to prevent play between said crank and said crank stand.

2. In railway apparatus for ground connections, the combination with a crank stand having a crank mounted therein for movement in a horizontal plane, of means for preventing play between said crank and crank stand, while permitting free functional movement of the former, said means comprising a washer interposed between the upper surface of the hub of the crank and *the adjacent bearing surface of the crank stand, said washer consisting of a plurality of similar arcuate segmental sections, each provided with a threaded socket in its upper surface, and a set screw screwing through the overhanging portion of" the crank stand into the threaded socket in each segmental section for adjusting said section vertically.

In railway apparatus for ground connections, the combination with a crank stand having a crank mounted therein for into the threaded socket in each segmental section for adjusting said section ertically, and locking means carried by each set screw for maintaining the same in adjustedposition. 7

JOHN L. BEIL. WILLIAM J. ONEILL. 

